Australia Picks Strong Squad For Malaysia Friendly

Sydney ,Sept 27: Australia coach Holger Osieck selected a strong squad on Tuesday for next month's international friendly against Malaysia with Brett Emerton the only regular player missing.

The 19 Australian players picked to play Malaysia in Canberra on Oct. 7 were all part of the Socceroos squad that beat Thailand 2-1 and Saudi Arabia 3-1 in its opening two Asian qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup.

Osieck included Tim Cahill, despite the midfielder injuring his shin while playing for Everton against Manchester City at the weekend. The Malaysia friendly will be Australia's only warmup match before meeting Oman in World Cup qualifying in Sydney on Oct. 11.

Emerton, who quit Blackburn Rovers to join Sydney FC last month, was omitted to allow him to play make his A-League debut against fellow World Cup veteran Harry Kewell's Melbourne Victory on Oct. 8. Emerton is expected to return for the Oman qualifier.Kewell, who also returned to play in the A-League this season, has not featured in any of Australia's qualifying matches and is yet to prove he is fit enough for a return to the Socceroos squad.

Australia: Mark Schwarzer, Adam Federici, Lucas Neill (captain), Sasa Ognenovski, Matthew Spiranovic, Luke Wilkshire, Rhys Williams, Michael Zullo, Mile Jedinak, Neil Kilenny, Matt McKay, Adam Sarota, James Troisi, Carl Valeri, Brett Holman, Josh Kennedy, Tim Cahill, Alex Brosque, Robbie Kruse.AP